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Krista Dawson, who has been getting books from First Book for years, works with preschool children in Richmond, Virginia and recently responded to us with a great list of books that she uses to get kids started with reading. We love the list so much we created a bundle on the FB Markeplace to share with you!

First Book: How long have you worked with kids/literacy groups in general?

Krista: I have been an educator for 25 years and doing literacy work specifically for the past 5 ½ years.

First Book: Do you have a favorite story about working with your kids and/or First Book?

Krista: When providing my first site visit for my first First Book grant, I took the book, Five Little Ducks by Raffi. I had made foam stick puppets for retelling the story and when I shared with the group, they were already familiar with the song and were thus very engaged. My surprise came the following month when I returned with the second book to share and immediately the children began to shout “Five Little Ducks! Five Little Ducks!” They had obviously remembered me but only by the book I shared. Every month after that, no matter what book I brought, the children always wanted to recite the Five Little Ducks song before moving on to the new book. My personal takeaway from this is that songs and books with songs really stick with young children and are a great way to engage and build memory. The repetition and rhyme are powerful tools for literacy development (by the way, I still pick Five Little Ducks as our first book for each grant because I KNOW the power it has to anchor all future visits).

First Book: Do you have a favorite moment involving a child reading/enjoying books?

Krista: This was shared with me by one of the children’s staff that provide the site visits for our First Book Grants. “The other day a FB student came into the library. The student was very excited to see me at a different library from where I do the First Book Program. She grabbed her mom by the arm and very excitedly said, ‘Mommy that is Miss Heidi! She is the book fairy that gives us all of our books to take home!’ I had no idea that I was a book fairy but I am happy to accept that title.” (Submitted by Heidi Yannetti, Children’s Associate for Belmont and Main Libraries)

Early Childhood Ready to Read Collection: Two Copies of Each Book

Very Hungry Caterpillar (Special Edition) (Board Book)
Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Cleo’s Alphabet Book (Board Book)
Elephant and Piggie: We Are in a Book (Hardcover)
Elephant and Piggie: Listen to My Trumpet! (Hardcover)
The Mitten (Board Book)
Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? (Board Book)
Princess Bedtime Stories (Hardcover)
From Head to Toe (Board Book)
Big and Busy Ocean (Board Book)

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